Section 480-07-395. Pleadings, motions, and briefs—Format requirements; citation to record and authorities; verification; errors; construction; amendment.

(1) Format. All pleadings, motions, and briefs must meet the following format requirements:

(a) Paper size; legibility; margins. All pleadings, motions, and briefs must be:

• Submitted on three-hole punched (oversize holes are preferred) 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper.

• Presented in double-spaced, 12-point, palatino, times new Roman, or an equally legible serif font, with footnotes in the same font and of at least 10-point type.

• Presented with paragraphs numbered.

• Printed with margins at least one inch from each edge of the page.

Documents that are electronically filed must meet these requirements when printed.

(b) Length. Pleadings, motions, and briefs must not exceed sixty pages (exclusive of exhibits, appended authorities, supporting affidavits and other documents). The presiding officer may alter the page limit, either shortening or lengthening the number of pages allowed, considering the number and complexity of the issues.

(c) Organization. Every pleading, motion, and brief must be organized as follows:

(i) Caption. At the top of the first page must appear the phrase, "before the Washington utilities and transportation commission." On the left side of the page, the caption of the proceeding must be set out or, if no caption exists, the following: "In the matter of the (complaint, petition, motion, etc.) of (name of the pleading party) for (identify relief sought)." On the right side of the page, opposite the caption, the pleading party must include the docket number if one has been assigned, identify the name of the document (e.g., petition, motion, answer, reply, etc., of (role of party: E.g., petitioner, respondent, protestant, etc., and name of the party if more than one party has the same role in the proceeding)). The caption also must briefly state the relief sought (e.g., "petition for an accounting order"; "motion for continuance").

(ii) Body of pleading. The body of the pleading must be set out in numbered paragraphs. The first paragraph must state the pleading party's name and address and if it is the party's initial pleading, the name and address of its representative, if any. The second paragraph must state all rules or statutes that the pleading puts in issue. Succeeding paragraphs must set out the statement of facts relied upon in a form similar to complaints in civil actions before the superior courts of this state. The concluding paragraphs must state the relief the pleading party requests.

(iii) Body of motion. A motion must include the following information:

(A) Relief requested. A statement of the specific relief the commission is requested to grant or deny.

(B) Statement of facts. A succinct statement of the facts that the moving party contends are material to the requested remedy.

(C) Statement of issues. A concise statement of the legal issue or issues upon which the commission is requested to rule.

(D) Evidence relied upon. Any evidence on which the motion or opposition is based must be specified. Any affidavits, depositions or portions of affidavits or depositions relied upon must be specified. If a party relies on affidavits, deposition transcripts, or documentary evidence, the party must quote the cited material verbatim or attach a photocopy of relevant pages to an affidavit that identifies and verifies the documents. Parties should highlight or otherwise clearly identify the portions of the cited evidence upon which they place substantial reliance.

(iv) Body of brief. Unless excused by the presiding officer, the parties must include in their briefs a table of contents in outline format. The commission may require parties to organize their briefs according to a common outline. The presiding officer, in consultation with the parties, will establish the elements of any common outline taking into account the issues in the proceeding, the parties' preferences, and the commission's needs.

(v) Citation to record. Portions of the record relied on or quoted in the body of a brief must be cited using footnotes.

(A) Transcript. Transcript references should be as follows: [witness's surname], TR. [page]: [line(s)]. If the transcript reference spans multiple pages, the reference should be as follows: [witness's surname], TR. [page]: [line] - [page]: [line]. Examples: Smith, TR. 21:5-14; Jones, TR. 356:4 - 357:21.

(B) Exhibits. Exhibit references should be as follows: Exh. No. [insert number assigned at hearing]. In the case of prefiled testimony offered or received as an exhibit, page number(s), line number(s), and the witness's surname should be added following the style specified in this section for transcript references. In other exhibits, references to page(s), line(s) for text, row(s) and column(s) for tables, or other specific references may be added to clarify the information cited.

(vi) Citation to authority. Parties must use the citation formats specified in the current edition of the style sheet of the Washington supreme court reporter of decisions. The presiding officer may require parties to file copies of the text of authorities that are cited in parties' briefs and upon which parties place substantial reliance. Unless excused by the presiding officer, parties must include a table of cited authorities, with the full citation of each reference and its location in the brief.

(vii) Attachments or appendices. If a party attaches more than two attachments or appendices to a pleading, the party must individually separate the attachments by blank sheets with tabs.

(2) Verification. All pleadings and motions, except complaints brought by the commission or matters raised by the commission on its own motion must be dated and signed by at least one attorney or representative of record in his or her individual name, stating his or her address, or by the party, if the party is not represented. Parties who are not represented by an attorney must include a statement in any pleading that the facts asserted in the pleading are true and correct to the best of the signer's belief. Parties who bring certain complaints under RCW 80.04.110 or 81.04.110 that challenge the reasonableness of the rates or charges of jurisdictional utilities must provide additional verification as specified in those statutes.

(3) Errors in pleadings or motions. The commission may return a pleading or motion to a party for correction when the commission finds the pleading or motion to be defective or insufficient. The commission may disregard or correct obvious typographical errors, errors in captions, or errors in spelling of names of parties.

(4) Liberal construction of pleadings and motions. The commission will liberally construe pleadings and motions with a view to effect justice among the parties. The commission, at every stage of any proceeding, will disregard errors or defects in pleadings, motions, or other documents that do not affect the substantial rights of the parties.

(5) Amendments. The commission may allow amendments to pleadings, motions, or other documents on such terms as promote fair and just results.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 80.01.040 and 80.04.160. WSR 08-18-012 (Docket A-072162, General Order R-550), § 480-07-395, filed 8/22/08, effective 9/22/08; WSR 06-16-053 (Docket A-050802, General Order R-536), § 480-07-395, filed 7/27/06, effective 8/27/06; WSR 03-24-028 (General Order R-510, Docket No. A-010648), § 480-07-395, filed 11/24/03, effective 1/1/04.]

Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency.

RCW 80.01.040 and 80.04.160. WSR 08-18-012 (Docket A-072162, General Order R-550), § 480-07-395, filed 8/22/08, effective 9/22/08; WSR 06-16-053 (Docket A-050802, General Order R-536), § 480-07-395, filed 7/27/06, effective 8/27/06; WSR 03-24-028 (General Order R-510, Docket No. A-010648), § 480-07-395, filed 11/24/03, effective 1/1/04.